Baby Bitesize | Sleep Habits, Attachment & Letting Go of Control
From Thriving Parent-ing by Jen Cuttriss - Sleep Thrive Grow - Baby & Parent Sleep Coach & Mindset Mentor
March 2, 2026 · 9 min · Episode 104
About this episode
This episode discusses the relationship between sleep habits and attachment in early parenting, emphasizing the importance of responsiveness over control.
In this Baby Bitesize gold nugget episode, we gently unpack one of the biggest sources of anxiety in early parenting: sleep habits and attachment. If you’ve ever worried that feeding to sleep, rocking, co-sleeping, or lying beside your baby is creating bad habits or damaging secure attachment, this conversation is for you. You’ll hear a powerful mindset shift inspired by attachment expert Eli Harwood: secure attachment is not built on where or how your baby sleeps, but on consistent responsiveness, warmth, and emotional availability. This episode invites you to release the pressure to control your child’s sleep and instead focus on what you can control, your responses, your mindset, and the connection you model. Because you are not the pilot of your child’s plane, you are the mechanic helping make it flight worthy. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why sleep associations are neutral, not good or bad What actually builds secure attachment in early childhood The difference between responsiveness and control A secure attachment mindset shift to reduce sleep anxiety How to know when a sleep habit is still serving your family The three essentials needed to shift sleep patterns in a…
People in this episode
Host: Jen Cuttriss
Topics covered
- sleep habits
- attachment
- parenting anxiety
- mindset shift
- responsive parenting
Keywords
- sleep habits
- attachment
- parenting
- mindset
- sleep anxiety
- responsive parenting
- co-sleeping
- feeding to sleep
More episodes of Thriving Parent-ing
- From Fight/Flight and in Survival to Feeling Like Yourself Again with Tash Forbes · June 8, 2026 · 39 min
- Baby Bitesize | Why Newborn Sleep Feels So Messy (What You Can Control) · May 25, 2026 · 11 min
- What If Self-Care Wasn’t Optional in Motherhood? · May 11, 2026 · 19 min
- Baby Bitesize | When One Becomes Two: The Real, Raw Transition · May 4, 2026 · 13 min
- Why Oral Function Matters More Than You Think (For Sleep, Feeding & Development) with Mel Van Schelven · April 27, 2026 · 42 min
- Baby Bitesize | My Baby Always Wakes Crying… What’s Actually in Your Control? · April 20, 2026 · 13 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Thriving Parent-ing podcast page.